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S. Korea Vows to Strengthen Military Capabilities

The South Korean military pledged on Wednesday to quicken the pace of work on a comprehensive air and missile defense infrastructure and on developing new ballistic missiles capable of targeting all areas of North Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

Seoul has been focused on designing and fielding high-altitude missiles capable of traveling nearly 500 miles since receiving the go-ahead from Washington in the fall. South Korea has already fielded domestically produced cruise missiles that can strike any area in the North, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok.

North Korea infuriated the international community on Tuesday by carrying out its third nuclear test since 2006.

The South Korean navy has fitted its Aegis-equipped ships with sea-fired cruise missiles capable of traveling as far as 310-620 miles for use against nuclear and missile targets, officials said.

Additionally, the armed forces will speed up work on a sophisticated "kill chain" antimissile program that is envisioned as sending missile threat data collected by surveillance satellites and reconnaissance airplanes to fighter bombers and missiles for use in targeting and eliminating the airborne dangers.

South Korea will also work to place a military satellite into orbit no later than 2021. The South carried out its first successful domestic launch of a satellite last month.

February 13, 2013

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The South Korean military pledged on Wednesday to quicken the pace of work on a comprehensive air and missile defense infrastructure and on developing new ballistic missiles capable of targeting all areas of North Korea, the Yonhap News Agency reported.